The rescue team
diagnosed patient (4) with hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage.
It is a disease in which blood vessels affected by high blood pressure have burst for a long time.
In this patient’s case, there was even a hematoma where the blood had solidified and hardened.
Should I say that it is fortunate among misfortunes that it is not an emergency?
“I heard that CABG was completed a little while ago. Is there any additional care the thoracic surgery department needs to take care of?”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Then, please transfer me to neurosurgery. I’ll have to do a detailed examination, but I suspect hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage.”
“All right.”
Ki-Seok Choi finished the conversation with the thoracic surgery resident and explained the patient’s symptoms, suspected disease, and the need for testing.
“Please wait a moment in the thoracic surgery ward. I will send an intern soon.”
“Yes. Please take care of me.”
Choi Ki-seok immediately went up to the ward.
But the call phone I had in my gown suddenly started shaking.
‘Who is it?’
I checked the unfamiliar number and tilted my head.
“This is Ki-Seok Choi from the Neurosurgery Department at Mayjo Clinic.”
[Who am I?]
“If it’s a prank call, I’ll hang up right away. Tell me your business quickly.”
[brother. I’m really sad. Do you really not know who I am?]
Ki-Seok Choi thought for a moment and then burst into laughter.
I realized it too late.
The identity of the caller.
“It’s Jeonghyeok.”
[yes! that’s right. No matter how long it’s been since you last called, how could you forget my voice?]
“You’re so busy these days. By the way, has your phone number changed?”
[yes. Not long ago. Anyway, it’s nice to hear my brother’s voice after a long time. Are you doing well living in America?]
“Yes. So far.”
[Actually, I did it because I had something to tell you. Me. I was accepted to Seoundae Medical School! Awesome, right?]
“Seoundae Medical School? Really? Congratulations.”
Choi Ki-seok raised his voice without realizing it.
To enter Seoundae Medical School, you must be in the top 0.1% of the CSAT scores. I knew that Kim Jeong-hyuk was studying hard and doing well, but I had no idea that he would go to Seoundae Medical School.
[It’s all thanks to my brother. If it weren’t for my brother, I wouldn’t have received proper rehabilitation treatment and would have lived like a fool because of the aftereffects.]
“No. Your role was bigger than mine. You got through the difficult times well.”
[lol. Really?]
“Of course. Then.”
Choi Ki-seok could still remember it vividly.
When I first saw Kim Jeong-hyuk at the orphanage, he looked lifeless due to the aftereffects of an appendectomy and seemed to have given up on everything in the world.
He had already entered medical school….
It suddenly occurred to me that time had passed so quickly.
“Jeonghyuk. I really congratulate you and I will buy you a nice gift when you go to Korea.”
“Yes. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
After a moment of silence, Kim Jeong-hyuk spoke.
[brother. Hae-jin is sure to be happy in heaven, right? Actually, I tried hard not to embarrass Haejin hyung.]
“Yes, I’m sure he’s proud of you.”
The name Haejin instantly brought tears to my eyes.
It was his own name, a name that no longer exists in the world.
[I still miss Haejin hyung sometimes. If Hae-jin had been alive, we could have worked at the same hospital…]
“….”
[Ah. That doesn’t mean I don’t like my brother. I just like Hae-jin hyung a little better than Ki-seok hyung.]
“Well, I should understand that much. I’m a person whose heart is as broad as the ocean.”
[wow. You say you have a big heart?]
“There’s nothing that can’t be done. It’s true.”
Kim Jeong-hyuk burst out laughing at his joke.
[You must be busy, so I will hang up. Please contact us when you come to Korea. Definitely!]
“Okay. See you later.”
Choi Ki-seok hung up the phone and continued walking.
As I was walking down the hallway past the station, I heard a loud noise coming from one of the hospital rooms.
“Are you a doctor?”
“….”
“What if a doctor plays with a patient? Are you their toy? Is your mouth covered? Why can’t you answer?”
The skinny patient urged intern Michael, but Michael lowered his head and said nothing.
His bright red face looked like it was going to explode at any moment.
“What’s going on Michael?”
“Well… the patient’s ABGA (arterial blood collection) failed three times in a row. So…” “
Hey, what are you talking about?”
The skinny patient’s gaze shifted to Choi Ki-seok.
“This is neurosurgery resident Ki-seok Choi. I apologize for unintentionally causing you any inconvenience.”
“….”
“Can I draw blood on Michael’s behalf?”
“Do whatever you want.”
The patient wrinkled his face and held out his hand.
“But if you fail too, I won’t just sit still. I’ll file a complaint with the customer service department!”
“All right.”
Choi Ki-seok checked the condition of the radial artery using the Allen test and proceeded to collect blood for ABGA.
Fuuuuuk.
When the needle was pricked, red blood appeared on the needle.
Choi Ki-seok drew an appropriate amount of blood and removed the syringe.
“It’s done. Don’t rub the cotton, just hold it down.”
“What? It doesn’t really hurt. Hey, have you kept failing at something this easy?”
When the blood draw was finished, the skinny patient stood up and approached Michael.
It wouldn’t be surprising if a fight broke out right away.
“ABGA blood collection is more difficult than regular blood collection. Michael is an intern and may not yet be skilled in the treatment. So, I hope the patient will be generous.”
“Dr. Choi. This person.”
The skinny patient continued speaking with a huff.
“After failing to draw blood, I kept blaming my blood vessels. If I had apologized politely because my skills were lacking, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
“….”
“Hey. Michael, am I wrong?”
“Yes, that’s right. I blamed the patient for having bad blood vessels.”
“You know why I went on a rampage, right? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t get over this.”
The skinny patient pointed his index finger at Michael.
“You. I’ll file a complaint by the end of today, so be prepared.”
“Patient. I understand how you feel right now, but please think twice about me. I will make sure to educate this friend.”
The skinny patient hesitated for a moment at Choi Ki-seok’s request.
“Okay, I’ll just let it go this one time. If something similar happens, I really won’t let it go.”
“Thank you. Michael, please look at me for a moment.”
“yes.”
Choi Ki-seok sat down in the lounge with Michael. And without saying a word, I pulled out a can of energy drink and handed it to him.
“Are you upset?”
“….”
“ABGA is one of the treatments that interns have a hard time with. There is no need to be discouraged just because you have failed several times.”
“…yes.”
“But it was clearly Michael’s fault for openly blaming the patient’s blood vessels. From the patient’s perspective, he would feel like the responsibility for the failure was being placed on him.”
“I understand what you’re saying, teacher, but aren’t the patient’s blood vessels really bad?”
Michael continued speaking as if he felt unfair.
“Honestly, the patient’s arm was thin and the blood vessels were hard to see. The ABGA for that other patient did well.”
“Michael. Are you still blaming the patient?”
“That’s not true, that’s the truth. It’s not like you’re campaigning by calling yourself a patient. If only we met outside. Ah!”
Ki-seok Choi clicked his tongue at Michael’s attitude.
I tried to point out his mistakes and comfort him, but Michael was showing an uneasy attitude.
“Michael. Are you crazy?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Why do you keep blaming the patient? If you think about it that way, how did I succeed in drawing blood in one go?”
“….”
“It’s absurd. The person who should be responsible for the patient is blaming the patient.”
“No, sir. I mean…”
“Stop making excuses! That’s not what I brought you here for.”
When Choi Ki-seok raised his voice, Michael lowered his head.
“Before blaming others, look at yourself. How would you feel if Michael was hospitalized and the doctor failed to draw blood one after another and blamed the veins?”
“….”
“Today is my first time, so I’ll skip it. However, if the patient says something similar again, I will report it to the manager.”
“….”
“You’re not answering?”
“Ah… I understand.”
bang!
I closed the door roughly and left the lounge.
After Ki-Seok Choi left, Michael finished his energy drink and crumpled it in his hands.
“Look at you being arrogant about getting promoted early. Did you do well from the beginning? You’re making a fuss for no reason.”
* * *
That afternoon.
Ki-seok Choi finished his surgical scrubs and visited the neurology ward.
To meet pianist Carter.
Even though the patient was out of my hands, I still had a strong desire to watch over him.
“Mr. Choi. What’s going on?”
Neurology resident Kenan recognized him and waved.
“Nice to meet you, Kenan. Do you know Carter, who was recently transferred to the hospital due to hemiparesis? He doesn’t seem to be in the hospital. Where did he go?”
“I’m probably in the rehabilitation room right now. I’ve been in rehab for a while.”
“What will happen next?”
“Honestly, it’s not very good. The nerve damage is greater than I thought. It will take a long time to overcome it with strength training.”
Kenan continued speaking while examining Choi Ki-seok’s expression.
“But why Carter? Isn’t this a patient that has nothing to do with neurosurgery anymore?”
“Carter was the first patient I had when I entered the neurosurgery department. I feel more attached to him than other patients.”
“okay.”
“Anyway, thank you.”
Ki-seok Choi finished talking with Kenan and headed to the rehabilitation treatment room.
The rehabilitation treatment room was located on the first basement floor of the clinic and was crowded with patients.
Exercise therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc.
Rehabilitation therapists and patients work one-on-one to provide various treatments.
While looking at the patients for a while, I found Carter being treated.
Carter was doing therapy by squeezing and releasing a ball in his hand.
It’s a simple movement that even a child can do, but Carter couldn’t even do it.
It seems difficult even to reach for the ball.
In the video Choi Ki-seok watched, he moved his hands more flashily than anyone else in the world.
As the treatment continued, Carter’s face distorted.
Sweat beaded on my forehead.
“Mr. A!”
Carter was unable to overcome the challenge and threw the ball with his free hand.
“Patient. Calm down. This is a very good job.”
“Doing well? Is this a good thing? I couldn’t even touch the ball once?”
“It’s the first day of rehabilitation. You can’t get used to the movements all at once.”
“it’s okay. Beat it!”
As Carter became irritated, the rehabilitation therapist sighed.
As the treatment was stopped, the waiting medical assistant placed him in a wheelchair.
“Hello.”
“Hello, I can’t.”
Carter was impressed by Choi Ki-seok’s greeting. He frowned.
“If it’s okay, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“I have nothing to say.”
“I have something to say.”
Carter made a blank expression at the unexpected answer.
“It’ll just take a moment.”
“I really don’t understand. . “I’m not Dr. Choi’s patient anymore, so why are you doing this?”
“I don’t want to talk about patients versus doctors. “I just want to talk person to person.”
“Good. Then do whatever you want.”
“As for the assistant, go up and do your work. I’ll take the patient to the hospital room.”
“Okay.”
Choi Ki-seok dragged the wheelchair and moved to the cafe on the first floor.
The two just looked at each other for a while as if they were having a war of nerves.
Eventually, the drink Choi Ki-seok ordered came out.
” What is it? Didn’t you order coffee?”
Carter checked two cups of herbal tea and tilted his head.
“Coffee reduces your sense of balance and is not good for rehabilitation treatment. For your information, it is best to refrain from eating salty foods.”
“Hehehe. True.”
Carter burst out laughing at Choi Ki-seok’s explanation.
